The trouble with being a (doggy) gentleman...
Meet Charlie. He tries really, really hard to be a perfect gentleman...
It's a tough job. But he's committed.
When it comes to escorting his best gal Fable around the neighborhood, Charlie wants to make sure she has a great time.
He comes to her doorstep each weekday morning to see if Fable can join him at the park. He'll sit on the doorstep like a proper gentleman until she comes out, then there are Many Wags And Big Sniffs and they're off to the dog park.
They go straight to the park -- because park -- and there are big frolics! (Zoomers and wrestles are serious business, you know.) Once the sillies are out of the way, they can enjoy a stroll through the neighborhood, occasionally stopping to wrestle on lawns or menace squirrels.
Oh, and Fable has to steal Charlie's apple slices.
He doesn't seem to mind the theft.
But there is one thing Charlie does mind: pooping.
Because Charlie tries so very hard to be a gentleman around his giant, occasionally belligerent bestie, he's determined not to poop in front of her. Which is tricky, given all the running they do at the park. It really, ah, gets things going.
Now, before you start wondering, let me assure you: Fable has no such shame. Absolutely none. In fact, she prefers an audience to her outdoor deliveries.
She happily does her doggy business in front of Charlie.
And poor Charlie does the Golden Retriever version of crossing his legs and hopping with desperation. He has refused to poop in front of Fabes for months, holding it in until she's been dropped off at home and he (and his lovely daytime human) have carried on to theirs. Then it's on.
Except for today.
Today, Charlie just couldn't hold it.
But bless his fuzzy heart, he still tried to be modest about it. He raced ahead of Fable and scooted behind a tree where she couldn't see him. Then he clearly tried to do it as fast as possible -- before she caught up.
We nearly fell over laughing, but his walker is a kind soul and she stepped in front of Charlie to provide an additional privacy screen.
He still couldn't look at Fable for nearly 5 minutes.
Who knows if the gentlemanly seal has now been broken? Will Charlie return to his modest ways, or will he adopt the exhibitionist outdoor manners of his giant pal?
Either way, it's tough to be a doggy gentleman!
On a related not, I have to tell you that it's also hard to be a human gentleman with some clever detective skills. I've returned to my book I'm writing under Dee St. Holm, The Harpy In White, and am reconnecting with my characters. Poor Theo! He's got a murder to solve and a harpy he's trying oh so hard not to be in love with. So far he's had zero success on that count. But he is making strides with his mystery. After a back alley deal with pies, he's found the mangled carriage belonging to the still unidentified dead carriage driver. Now to find out why there were chains in the cab...
Luv,
Dee